Avoidance of avascular necrosis of the femoral head, following fractures of the femoral neck, by early reduction and internal fixation.

Clinical, experimental and post-mortem studies suggest that avascular necrosis of the femoral head following fractures of the neck of the femur, is due to compression, torsion, stretching or rupture of the blood vessels by displacement of the fragments. If this is true then urgent reduction and internal fixation are important in the prevention of this complication. This study shows that those cases which were submitted to early reduction and internal fixation had a reduced incidence in severity of avascular necrosis compared with those in whom operation was delayed. Therefore it is proposed that fractures of the femoral neck should be treated by early reduction and internal fixation.